


Bone tired, but no where to sleep

by The_WriterWoman



Category: Prospect (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Brief Violence, Brief graphic descriptions of zombies, Damon is a dick, Ezra is precious, F/M, Future descriptions of fighting zombies, Guns, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shooting Guns, Slow Burn, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29591721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_WriterWoman/pseuds/The_WriterWoman
Summary: Zombie apocalypse!AuYou and your brother Damon are surviving during the zombie apocalypse. 4 years after the outbreak, you and Damon are in search of shelter, unfortunately shelter isn’t so easy to come by when you bump into the likes of Ezra and his mysterious partner.
Relationships: Ezra (Prospect 2018)/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this has been in my brain for a while and Ezra is one of my faves so I had to put him in it. It pretty much is a self indulgent fic for myself. It’s going to have cliches and tropes galore, but I hope you like it! 
> 
> Also I know how difficult Ezra’s speech patterns can be, so please forgive me if he isn’t as wordy as he normally is. I tried my best :) 
> 
> I apologise for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy!

Life was harsh and unforgiving in the apocalypse. You weren’t naive enough to think it wouldn’t be. It had been four years since the outbreak of the virus. Many people died, and those who did die often came back reanimated into a being with animalistic behaviour you wouldn’t want to be on the business end of. Those who didn’t die survived. As best as you could anyway with limited supplies. The population of women and children had declined, women becoming more like possessions, an object to help repopulate the earth. Before they stopped broadcasting, a lot of news reads were about the number of women who had been killed in a fight over them. Young girls being snatched from their families. Humanity had never sunk so low. 

You managed to get away with it by keeping your hair tucked up underneath a baseball cap, pulled down to hide your face. Men's loose and baggy clothes helped to hide any feminine features as well. The two of you hadn’t run into much trouble before now. You and your brother Damon had been wandering for weeks in search of these ‘Mercs’ he claimed had a job for them with a massive payout. 

You had heard about this group of people before. Not a group you wanted to mess with if you knew what was good for you. Unfortunately for you though, supplies had been dwindling more and more each day. Not helped by the fact of your brother sometimes trading your supplies to other people for their drugs. Even if it was paracetamol. If Damon could get his hands on it and it’d make him escape reality for a bit, he’d take it. 

Your form of escapism was less destructive than your brothers. An old battered copy of Pride and prejudice you had fallen in love with a teenager was all you had left to shut out the world around you. Losing yourself in a world where the main worry was getting a man to propose seemed a damn sight better. 

You sighed to yourself as you trudged along behind Damon, keeping one eye on the shadows of the street for Z’s. It had been three days since you last had a camp and a good night's sleep. You felt exhausted to your bones as you concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Damon had insisted on searching for somewhere to lay low for a few days and stock up on supplies, but you knew better. Hidden in his bag was a smaller bag filled with codeine, his latest trade-off for your spare pair of boots and matches. You still weren’t over it. The autumn chill alluded to the winter that was surely around the corner, and you knew those boots would have provided better protection than your boots you were currently wearing. A small hole threatening to make itself known in the heel. 

Hearing your sigh, Damon turned back to glare at you before carrying on. 

“When are you gonna give it a rest? I told you I’d get you new boots. Stop your whining.” He snapped, not evening bothering to look back at you. You rolled your eyes but said nothing. Better to let him vent without interruption when he was in one of these moods. The two of you walked along in silence until he came to a stop, with you almost bumping into his back but you caught yourself at the last second. The last thing you wanted to do was make his mood even worse. He turned around to face you.

“This place looks as good as any, and not many Z’s roaming about. I’m going to go check the buildings up ahead. You can search this area. Look for food, drink, medical stuff you know, the works. We meet back up over by that church,” he pointed to a church a little further up “in half an hour, think you can handle that?” he raised an eyebrow, giving you a condescending look. He always gave orders rather than speaking to you. 

“Yeah, I can handle that. See you in half an hour.” You nodded at each other and then went your separate ways. You let out a breath of relief at not having to be under his scrutiny for a little while. In the deepest recesses of your brain, you knew you loved your brother, but it didn’t mean you had to like the asshole. Pushing thoughts of him away, you concentrated on the task ahead of you. You reached the first shop which claimed to be a grocer. You raised your gun and prayed there wasn’t a bell over the door. 

Luck must have been on your side because the door opened silently. You stepped into the dark shop cautiously, listening out for any signs you weren’t alone. You stood still for a minute, but all you could hear was the sound of your breathing, so you relaxed slightly and ventured in further. Dust lifted into the air as you moved, catching in the low light of the afternoon. You busied yourself with your task. 

It seemed like other people had the same idea as you as the shop had been ransacked. The shelves were almost bare apart from some rotting fruit. You reached an aisle that claimed to have tins and you let out a smile. Tins were good. You moved closer and sifted through what was left. You felt spoiled for choice as there were two tins of soup and a tin of beans that were only a couple of years out of date. You took off your backpack and shifted a few items to make room. Once they were zipped up safe, you carried on your walk. At the end of one of the aisles, you found cereal bars. More than a handful. You had hit the jackpot. 

You couldn’t stuff them all in your bag so you went to the tills and managed to find a plastic bag. Grabbing two of them, you went back and filled one of the bags with cereal bars, deciding to keep the other bag for the other shops. You left out the front door and decided to try your luck at the next shop. It was a clothing store this time. You felt excited at the possibility of new boots. 

You scanned the aisles for a few minutes and couldn’t find any boots. You felt sad about it but decided to shrug it off. There were some men’s shirts laying on the floor, knocked off of their racks. You grabbed a handful of them, not bothering to look at the sizes. It didn’t matter, anything that didn’t fit you or Damon would be useful for other things. You had placed your gun on the floor and managed to roll the shirts up into tight balls and fit them in your backpack at the bottom. Just as you were zipping up your bag, you heard a shout from outside. The voice sounded like Damon. 

Cursing to yourself quietly, you grabbed your gun, tightened your hold on the carrier bags and rushed to the door. You looked out of the glass, eyes searching for your brother. Another shout drew your eyes to the left, where Damon said the church was. There was your brother, with his arm being twisted up his back by a man with brown hair. Another man who was built like a mountain standing behind him. She couldn’t hear if they were saying anything. As quietly as she could, she opened the door slowly and slipped out of the shop. Sticking to the buildings, she moved swiftly to where the men stood. As she got closer, she could hear what they were saying. 

“...he’d hate for me to let you go without having a thorough search first. You understand.” The brown-haired man was saying. The mountain of a man stepped forwards, his gun lowered, and grabbed Damon’s backpack and opened it up and rifled through the contents. Damon tried to twist out of the other man’s hold but he was pushed further into the brick wall. You crept closer, but still saying out of their eyesight. 

“Wait!” Damon called out “I’m meeting mercs. They’ve promised me a big payout for a trade. I was heading on my way there now. If you let me go, I’ll take you with me. We’ll split the bounty three ways.” The brown-haired man seemed to shift his feet in interest at this. He looked to his companion who looked back at him. They seemed to have a silent conversation for a second before the mountain man nodded his head. The brown-haired man turned back to Damon. 

“How a payout are we talking here?” Damon tried to turn and look at him.   
“Big. They promised me guns, ammo, food, medkits. Special items I’d only receive once I get there.” He rushed out. The man looked at his companion again, waiting for his signal. At the larger man’s nod, the brown-haired man turned back to Damon. 

“Well, it looks like today is your lucky day fella. Mercs it is.” He backed off, letting go of Damon’s arm. Damon spun around so his back wasn’t facing them, lifting his arm to rub it. The brown-haired man held his arms out in an apologetic gesture that gave off the vibe it wasn’t completely genuine. 

“Sorry if I hurt you there, friend. You got a name?” Damon looked down at his feet before looking at the mountain man and then behind the brown-haired man, almost in your direction. He blinked once and you knew he wanted you to come and save him. He looked at the brown-haired man. 

“Damon. My name's Damon.” He mumbled.   
“Nice to meet you, Damon. I’m Ezra. My companion here doesn’t have a name, so I call him two. Feel free to call him the same if you so wish.” The man turned to his companion to quietly tell him to put the things back in the backpack. If Damon was joining your group, no need to steal from him. You could see some of the features of this man, most noticeably, his hooked nose and the scruff of his beard. He turned back to Damon. 

“You out here on your own Damon? I must admit, it’s nice to have some company so willing to talk back. Two here ain’t much of a talker. The more the merrier.” Damon shook his head.   
“I’m on my own.” The other man clicked his tongue like he was disappointed. 

“Shame. No bother though. Shall we start making our journey before it gets dark? I think I could live without finding out how many Z’s live here.” Without waiting for a response, Ezra turned and started walking in the direction of the church, tugging at his backpack strap as he went, Two following behind him. Damon tugged his backpack on his back before sending another glance in your direction. His eyes spotted you in the shadows and he subtly tilted his head in a silent gesture for you to follow. You nodded. 

“Damon, while we’re still young if you please.” called Ezra. Damon didn’t answer back, just turned and started walking in the direction that the other two men went. You followed along in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You follow the group, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a lot of liberties with the dialogue, since it wouldn't fit into a zombie film. There'll be a lot more Ezra in the next chapter. I hope you like this one :) also, if anyone wants to help me pick an American town for them to be in, that would be very helpful. I'm from the Uk and no nothing lol. They're gonna be in a small dusty town, where there's a lot of farm land around them. 
> 
> WARNING: Brief semi graphic description of zombie face.

Fear was not a stranger to you, not at all. When the first outbreak happened you felt nothing but fear all the time. Fear if you would live, fear if you would turn into one of those monsters that crawl every street now. As you followed your brother and these two new men along the streets of the abandoned city, you could feel the icy tendrils of fear curl up in your stomach. You didn’t know if it was luck or not that they hadn’t spotted you yet. Your footsteps did not make much noise and you rushed as quickly as you could to match the men's long strides, avoiding broken glass and other bits of debris on the floor. As you shadowed the trio, you discovered that the man with the brown hair, Ezra, talked a lot. A lot, a lot. You could see Damon getting annoyed. 

“So tell me Damon, how did a man like you come to find yourself in this city alone?” Ezra questioned. Damon sniffed before answering.  
“Just passing through.” He mumbled, fidgeting with the strap of his backpack. Ezra hummed at his response.  
“Where are you from?” Damon heaved a sigh.  
“Nowhere.” Ezra chuckled like Damon had amused him.  
“Not much of a talker, are you?” Damon glanced at him before looking back to where he was going. 

“Have you always been solo? Or did you start with more of you?” Ezra asked, seemingly ignoring Damon’s growing frustration.  
“I’ve always been on my own. Do you always ask so many questions? Or am I a special case?” he snapped.

Ezra smirked at him like he was expecting that reaction. He held his hands up defensively.  
“Hey now, no harm done. I just like to know about a fella when I’m teaming up with them. Old habit.” Damon stopped and stared at the back of Ezra’s head, as he and number two carried on walking. Damon looked over his shoulder to see you looking around the corner of a building. 

“Damon, I really must press if we’re to make it before the week’s end, we-” he stopped abruptly. “Shit.” Seeing you, Ezra whipped around and took his gun and pointed it at you. He didn’t know if you were a zombie or another human who was looking to scavenge what they could off of the men. Seeing the gun being pointed at you, Damon leapt into action and took advantage of Ezra’s distracted attention. He leapt towards the other man and snatched the gun out of his hands, ignoring number two who had lifted his gun. You stepped out from behind the building and started walking up to the group of men, your gun aimed at Ezra's chest. 

Having both guns directed towards him, realisation dawned on Ezra’s face.

“Ok, I see how it is. There's no need for violence, surely we can come to some sort of arrangement?” Ezra held his hands out placatingly. You spotted number two moving out the corner of your eye, so you turned your gun to him instead. Damon poked Ezra in the chest with his gun. 

“Sit down,” he looked at number two “both of you.” Ezra turned to look at number two and nodded his head to signal that the two of them should do as they’re told since it was two guns against one. After a moment's hesitation, Ezra and number two slowly lowered themselves to the floor.  
“Gun too,” Damon demanded. Number two gave him a silent look as he slowly placed his gun on the floor. 

“Now gentlemen. I’ll ask you kindly to rid yourselves of your pack, so my partner and I can have a thorough search ourselves.” The look you sent Damon didn’t go unnoticed by Ezra. Ezra was blatantly staring at you. There was something about you that he couldn’t place his finger on. He tried to look at your face, but your cap was pulled down low and you were avoiding looking at him. At another poke from Damon’s gun, Ezra heaved a sigh and relinquished his backpack. Damon all but snatched it out of his hands, looking over to make sure that number two was complying. Ezra turned to face Damon. 

“I take the deal’s off then?” he questioned “You got me all hot and bothered about the Merc’s there, Damon.” Damon scoffed at him.  
“Alright, you can have your fabled spoils. You can take what you want from our pack’s, but then you let us go on our way. No harm done yet.” He said soothingly as if he were facing rabid beasts rather than two humans. Although, in this day, who knows the difference. 

It seemed like Damon wasn’t listening to him, as he kept his gun pointed on him as he searched through Ezra’s pack. You shot Damon a look. 

“Can we go?” you hissed, trying to keep your voice low to sound masculine. 

“Your partner’s scared, Damon. Maybe you should listen to them.” Ezra’s voice sounded firm, his mouth going in a straight line. Damon took no notice and continued his search. He let out an ‘aha’ and pulled out a bag full of what looked to be pills. Your heart sank. Ezra straightened up a bit.  
“Now Damon, go easy. You can’t be taking a man’s whole supply. You know how difficult it is to get them these days.” Ezra tried to warn. Damon didn’t listen and shoved them in his pocket. Ezra frowned and opened his mouth like he was about to say something when a bang came from behind where number two was sitting. All four of you turned to look, to see a zombie come stumbling from an alleyway. It turned to look at your group, with cloudy lifeless eyes. Half of its face was missing so you could see teeth, it’s tongue moving around uselessly. You couldn’t tell any features to see who it might have once been. You all seemed to move into action at the same time. 

You turned to face the zombie, aiming your gun at it, number two snatched up his gun in a second, but instead of pointing it at the zombie, he pointed it at Damon. Damon saw what he was doing and aimed his gun at him. Three shots rang out at the same time. The zombie went down easily. You turned to look at Damon, who was on his back, staring at the sky as a bloom of red spread across his chest. One look to the left and you would see the same for number two. Ezra then took his chance to leap forward and snatch his gun up from Damon’s still warm hands. He stood and spun to look at you, his gun aiming for your head. You gaped at him in shock. 

Neither of you moved for what felt like hours but could have only been seconds. He frowned and took a step closer to you. You took a step back, not watching where you were going. You stumbled and fell backwards. Your cap was pushed up, and it fell off your head. Your hair fell out from where it was curled up and fluttered down. Now it was Ezra’s turned to stare, his mouth agape in his shock, his gun lowered. 

“You’re a...a woman” he loudly whispered, as if saying it any louder would cause the hundreds of men who still hunted for women to descend on you both where you stood. You laid there in shock at him finding out your secret until he spoke. Then you did the only thing you could think of. 

You scrambled your way up into a standing position and ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, there it is. 
> 
> I hope you liked it. Leave a comment to let me know! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You take shelter for the night, but you're not alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter! I'm loving this story so much. I hope everyone else is! There's going to be a lot more Ezra from now on. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> WARNINGS: Reader is restrained for a little bit, but nothing bad happens. Also there's implications of attempted harassment by Damon, but it doesn't go into detail.

You ran as fast as your legs could carry you. Ignoring the burning in your lungs, ignoring your heart which felt like it was going to beat out of your chest. Only when it registered in your brain that you weren’t being followed you slowed down. You placed your hands on your knees and took several deep breaths to calm yourself down. Looking up, you saw that you seemed to be in a more suburban area now rather than the town centre. 

You looked around, cursing at yourself for the fact that you were more worried about getting away from Ezra, you forgot to check the area for zombies. Surely all your running would have attracted one? You turned your head left and right, even spinning on the spot to look around. You let out a sigh of relief when it looked like you were alone with no one following you, alive or undead. The house you were standing next to stood at one story high, small and non-threatening. It would have to make do as a base camp for the night, the low light of the sun setting behind it makes you realise that it would soon be night time, and more zombies would be out, maybe even the mutants. It was not a time you would want to be out. 

You took a step forward before looking down at your hands. You realised that when you had tripped up, you had dropped your gun and in your haste to get away, you have left it, and your hat, behind. 

“Fuck.” you whispered to yourself, cursing your stupidity. You’d been on your own plenty of times before, but the minute someone discovers you’re a woman, your mind turns into mush and lets things slip. 

Reaching to your pack, you unzipped it and searched for the small gun you kept for emergencies, and away from your brother's eyes, in case he tried to trade it. You walked cautiously to the front door. There were no signs of a break-in. The door wasn't damaged, the only flaw was the peeling paint but that wasn’t a bother to you. You pushed the door a little and it swung open. There was a pause while you waited to see if anything came running out at you. When nothing did, you took a breath and raised the gun as you stepped inside. 

Sweeping through the rooms, you found nothing of interest. No bodies, no zombies. If it wasn’t for the place being a mess like someone had done a thorough search, you would have just thought that the owners had gone out. It had been a while since you stayed in a place without bloodstains. Once you decided it was safe, you set about closing the door and setting the lock. You didn’t notice that the lock didn’t click into place, the adrenaline leaving your body, you were exhausted and trying to get things done before your body crashed. 

You dragged yourself to the living room to settle down for the night. Ever since the night you and Damon had been attacked in a house many cities ago, you kept the living room as a place for exit points. You vowed to never leave yourself vulnerable like that again, whether you had to make a quick exit from zombies or Damon. 

You had found a blanket on the sofa and wrapped it around yourself to stave off the slight chill in the air. A small shiver went through your body. You couldn't hear anything. No sounds of life outside. No zombies bumbling about, talking in their groaning language. Not even the sound of a ticking clock. Just you and your thoughts. 

A sob escaped your mouth when the image of Damon came to your head. You lost yourself in the grief of losing the only family you had left. No matter what Damon was like, no matter what he had put you through, he was family. You were used to loss by now. Everything in this apocalypse was. It came with the territory of where every day could be your last on this Earth. You allowed yourself to cry for a while until your cries had turned into whimpers. Ignoring your growling stomach, you curled up on the abandoned sofa and went to sleep, dreaming of red blooms. 

~

You didn’t know how much later it was when you woke up to a bang coming from outside. The darkness outside telling you it must be late. Another bang coming from the direction of the kitchen made you jolt up and grab your gun, before making your way to the source of the noise. The moonlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the room in an eerie blue light. The noise was coming from outside the window, you took a step closer, leaning towards the window to look out of it. 

You didn’t have enough time to react before a hand covered your mouth out of nowhere, another strong arm wrapping itself around your waist, trapping both of your arms to your body. Instincts kicked in and you tried to throw your captor off. 

“Shh,” a voice hissed in your ear, warm breath making your shiver “Shhh, I ain’t gonna hurt you. Just shut up!” You stilled instantly at hearing the drawl of Ezra’s voice. You didn’t know how he got in, or what he was doing there. Sensing you stopped struggling, Ezra loosened his arm holding you to him, but he didn’t let go completely. You tried to turn round to look at him, but he must have sensed your question. 

“You need to be quiet,” he emphasised each word quietly “there’s a goddamn hulk out there.” Your eyes widened at the thought of there being a mutant zombie right outside the window you were stupidly about to look outside of. 

As if being summoned, a shadow passed by the window. The massive bulk of a zombie paused as if it heard your thoughts and you held your breath. Hulk’s were one of the first zombies to mutate. Their massive bulky statue gave them their name. Their bulging, swollen head took away their sight, but what they lack in that department, they made up for amazing hearing. Hulk’s weren’t usually a zombie anyone wanted to take on. It took more than a headshot to take them down. 

You and Ezra stayed as quiet as you could, lungs burning with the effort to not make a noise. The hulk moved on once it realised that there was no food for it in that small garden, not knowing of the meals inside the house. As it ambled away, you and Ezra both let out sighs of relief, but Ezra kept his hands and arms around you. You struggled against him to make it clear you wanted to be let go. His arms seemed to tighten at your movements, making you go still again in fear. 

“I’m gonna let you go, so long as you don’t point that gun at me. I’ll kill you before you pull the trigger. Yes?” he murmured in a hushed voice, in case of any zombies still wandering around. You nodded your head in a yes that you understood him. You didn’t doubt for a second that he could kill you before you even got the safety off. At your nod, he nodded himself.   
“Ok, I’m letting go now. Just keep quiet, we don’t want any Z’s coming for us.” You nodded again. Ezra waited for a second to let his threat sink in, before slowly letting go of your mouth and waist, taking a couple of spaces back to give you some room. You turned round to face him, but kept your gun down by your side, making sure he saw you weren’t about to attack him. 

“How did you get in here?” you croaked, voice still thick from sleep. His brow wrinkled as he frowned at you. You caught a flash of something light in the moonlight. A small tuft of blonde hair you didn’t notice before when you were more concerned about escaping with your life.   
“The front door was unlocked. I came to take shelter for the night, and from what lurks in it. I didn’t think for a second I’d pick the same house in which you were already residing.” he explained. Your head was still a little foggy from sleep, you shook your head in disbelief at how much danger you left yourself in. Your stomach growling interrupted the silence, reminding you that you had gone to sleep without eating. Ezra’s face went from a frown to a smirk at the sound. 

“Hungry, little bird?” You frowned at the nickname but didn’t say anything. You stared him down, trying to not give in to the temptation of pointing your gun at him. Damon had more than efficiently instilled a fear of men in you. You watched as Ezra turned the safety on his gun before putting it in the back of his jeans in an attempt to seem less threatening. You still believed he could kill you before you could do anything, but he held his hands at his sides, making sure you could see them, and he let out a sigh. 

“I promise you, I’m not going to hurt you. I only pulled my gun on your earlier out of self-preservation, you understand? You not long had your gun on me before that after all.” 

You sneered. “And with good reason, my brother is now dead because of you.” You didn’t notice the way his shoulders relaxed when you said Damon was your brother.   
“To you, his sister, I apologise for my part in his death, but he was stealing my whole medical supply. Surely you must know how difficult it is to procure life-saving items in the world today. You can’t be selfish if you don’t want to be killed. Your brother should have known that, and if he didn’t then his death was inevitable I’m afraid.”

At his words, you felt your body and your anger deflate. You knew Ezra was right. You remembered the look on Damon’s face when he saw them, and how your heart sank. Maybe it was better this way. 

“If it’s alright, little bird, yesterday afternoon's activities left me quite famished myself, with no time to sit and have refreshments. Why don’t we take a seat and have something to eat? I’m sure we’ll both feel better.” he soothed. You didn’t answer him now you were slightly more awake. You lifted your head into the direction of the living room. He smiled and nodded his head before making his way to what you were using as a bedroom.

You followed behind him, keeping one eye on him warily. You looked at the front door as you passed and found a chair propped up against it. Clearly, it was Ezra’s doing which made you wonder how long he had been in the house. When in the living room, Ezra had taken the floor in the corner while you settled on the sofa with the blanket you had found. He was already rummaging through his bag, pulling out some bags of snacks. He saw you watching and held them out. 

“You want some jerky? I found it a few days ago on my travels. I’m more than happy to share, little bird.” You ignored the nickname again but felt confused at him offering his food to someone he just met and who had threatened him not that long ago. You hadn’t had jerky in so long though, your stomach rumbled. You couldn’t just take his food without offering something in return though, your parents had raised you better than that. You nodded but also reached for your bag. You unzipped it and pulled out the first tin you wrapped your hand around. You lifted it out and showed Ezra, who’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas. 

“Beans? I haven’t had them in what feels like forever, I thought I’d never see another tin again!” he exclaimed excitedly, but then as quickly as the happiness came, he frowned again.   
“Little bird, it’s a very generous offer, but surely I can’t be taking food from you. You need it more than I do.” You shook your head. 

“It’s only me now. So it’s my food. Besides, the jerky and beans would make a better meal together.” you offered. The smile came back on his face.   
“Well thank you, little bird. That is mighty kind of you. Let me go see if I can obtain some plates and utensils. We may be in an apocalypse, but I still have manners.” He left the jerky on the floor and stood up to make his way to the kitchen. You heard him open cupboards and drawers, and the clink of plates. You sat there and questioned yourself as to why you all of a sudden decided to have a meal with someone who pointed a gun at you not that long ago. Let alone a man. 

“He’ll use you up and toss you like trash. That’s all women are for these days.” Hissed a voice in your head that sounded an awful lot like Damon.   
“Shut up.” You hissed back at the same moment Ezra stepped back through the door.   
“Did you say something?” he asked with one eyebrow raised. You shook your head, moving your bag back onto the floor. He handed you a plate and a fork he had found. Your plate had a small chip in it, but that didn’t bother you. 

“Fortune smiles upon us today, little bird, as I managed to find a tin opener as well. It’s a little rusty, but it’ll do the job, I’m sure.” He held up his prize. You handed him the tin, then moved to the floor and put your plate in front of you, then took the bag of jerky and split even portions on to the plates on the floor. Ezra struggled with the tin for a minute, before managing to open it with an ‘aha’. Soon, the two of you were eating the meagre meal you scrounged up together. Ezra must have been starving as he finished his first. He leaned back against the wall and stared at you, his face not giving away to what he was thinking. You wonder when the last time he saw a woman was. 

“About a year after the first outbreak. It took me a while to realise that there weren’t many women left in the world. Then I saw what was happening to them first hand. It’s why I was so shocked to see you in the company of your brother. Although I’ll admit the get up is a good idea. Why’d you ask?” You cursed at yourself. You obviously said that last thought out loud. 

“I was wondering why you were staring at me like I was some rare creature or something,” you mumbled, focusing on moving your beans around on your plate. You looked up when Ezra chuckled.   
“To be honest with you, Birdie, you kinda are. Ain’t too many women roaming the planet now. Not enough gentlemen about either.”   
“Oh, and you’re a gentleman then I suppose?” you can’t help snarking. A little voice of self-preservation in the back of your head tells you to shut up. Ezra didn’t seem offended by it, he let out a small laugh again, although slightly less humorous this time. 

“A gentleman I ain’t,” he looked you in the eye, you tried to meet his gaze “but I was telling the truth when I said I wouldn’t hurt you. I don’t see the point in mindless violence.” 

Your mind wandered back to when he had your brother's arm twisted up against his back. Ezra must have thought the same thing as well.   
“In my defence, your brother pushed first.” He offered. You looked at him confused.   
“You’re wondering why I had your brother's arm twisted up his back if I don’t see the point in mindless violence. I had asked him kindly at first if he had anything to trade, yet he got defensive and pushed me.” You nodded your head at the story. It did sound like Damon. The coward never shied away from asking people for things yet he never wanted to share himself. 

Ezra settled back a bit more, his arms crossed. 

“So what’s your plan now?” he asked. You shrugged your shoulders.   
“I don’t really know. Damon was the one who planned everything. Where we went, what we did. I guess there’s still the mercs. Then maybe settle down somewhere.” You forget you’re talking to a stranger as your mind drifts off to your happy place. A house somewhere to call your own. A vegetable garden maybe. You're tired all the time and all you want is some safety and comfort. You’re pulled out of your thought’s as Ezra talks again. 

“I can go with you. To the Merc’s I mean.” You looked at him, squinting your eyes. He held his hands up.   
“I’m just saying. While although I have seen first hand that you are more than capable of looking after yourself, a woman travelling alone across this country is gonna be a prize for anyone.” You felt yourself getting offended, you put your plate on the floor. Although he had been nothing but nice since finding you here, you wouldn’t hesitate to hurt him if you needed to protect yourself. 

“Oh, is that what I am. Is that what you want me to be, perchance? A prize? Maybe trade me away for the right treasure?” Your voice got higher and higher the more you spoke.   
“Hey!” his voice cut through your ramblings. “That is not what I meant. All I mean, not everyone out there has as many morals as me. You go to those mercs on your own, they’re gonna keep you. All I want is to offer you a deal. Protection for half of what the mercs want to trade. That’s all.”

You calm down at his offer. You look into his dark brown eyes that hold your gaze, no malicious intent in them from what you can see. You remind yourself that not every man is Damon. You let out a sigh. 

“Even fifty-fifty split?” you ask.   
“Of course,” he replies, his face serious. You sigh again and reach over with your hand out. He takes it and gives it a firm shake, you can feel the callouses along his fingertips. You let go, although his hands seem to try and linger, and you sit back in your spot against the sofa.   
“No funny business.” You give him a stern look. He holds a hand on his heart and another up in front of him.   
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Let me know if you do in the comments :)


	4. Ezra's Pov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens to Ezra after you run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna give a shout out to Kat_in_the_window for giving me the idea to tell the story from in-between chapters 2 and 3 in Ezra's pov. This is a filler chapter before the next one which I'm gonna write soon. I've been taken down by a cold recently so I've been sleeping a lot. Trying to writer when your eyes want to close if difficult, lol. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy :D

If you had told Ezra this was how his day was going to go, he probably would have laughed at you in disbelief. 

At first, he and Two couldn’t believe their luck when they saw Damon standing to the side of the street, all on his own. Organising things in his pack without paying much attention around him. It was almost too easy. Ezra likes to think of himself as a good person who maybe had to do some morally grey things to survive, but hey. It was the apocalypse and everyone was doing it. Whatever it took to survive, and survive he did. 

It had been him and Two for nearly three years now after their meeting a year after the breakout. It felt like it had gone in the blink of an eye, although Ezra could feel the weight of the years bearing down on his shoulders, never easing as a reminder this was his life now. Shoot, kill, survive. There had been times when Ezra thought about ending it for himself. When survival got too hard, or when the weight of his actions sat on his chest in the night till he couldn’t breathe, but Two kept him going, practically pulling him on a string like a puppet. Making him dance for amusement. 

He wouldn’t be in the business of surviving off other peoples provisions if it wasn’t for his strings being pulled. He likes to think back on that day and imagine if he had left Damon alone, but then he wouldn’t have met you. 

One minute, he was trying to get a conversation out of Damon, having spent too much time in Two’s silent company. Next thing he knows, he catches Damon looking at another guy who was tailing them, and before he knows it, he’s on the ground with a gun pointed at him. The thought of crushing Damon’s head like an egg passed through his head as a fleeting thought. He needed to be more guarded with people. The apocalypse makes people do crazy things. 

He tried to get a good look at you, but that cap was pulled down too low over your face. He wondered if you were covering a deformity or something, most men weren’t too shy about being looked at. Everyone was rough looking. He was so busy trying to look at you, he only half heard Damon’s demands to remove the backpacks, giving a half-hearted attempt to placate your brother. 

Everything was forgotten when anger boiled through him as Damon pocketed his whole medical supply. Ezra wasn’t stupid. Drugs were hard to come by now. It wasn’t like you could pop down to your local pharmacy for a couple of paracetamol. He was about to give Damon a piece of his mind, venom on his tongue ready to attack. Of course, a zombie had to decide that was a good moment to come across your group. 

Ezra couldn’t wrap his head around what happened. Everyone moved so quick, you to shoot at the zombie, Two lunging for his gun to point at Damon. For a second, Ezra thought they were going to have the upper hand, he’d had his supply back in his pack before he knew it. 

So of course it had to go to shit. 

You took quick care of the zombie, and if Ezra didn’t have more pressing matters to deal with then he would have been impressed. Two aimed for Damon and Damon caught on at the last second. Three shots rang out and three bodies hit the floor. Ezra froze for a second before seeing you move, he leapt forward to snatch his gun from Damon’s grasp and he scrambled up to point it at your head. 

He could see more of your face now, a shocked expression peeking out at him from under the cap. He waited to see what you would do, but you seemed paralysed, stuck to the spot. Ezra frowned and took a step closer to you, to get you to move, to talk? He didn’t know. He just wanted you to react. As he took a step forward, you took a step back, stumbling over the ground and you went flying backwards. Your cap is thrown off your head by the momentum. You froze again, eyeing his gun wearily. 

Ezra couldn’t believe his eyes as your hair came tumbling down, giving away your true nature. He could feel his arm slacken, his gun drops down. Why he hasn’t seen a…

“...a woman.” He heard himself whisper as if hearing someone else speak it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around what he was seeing. As if noticing his shock, you took that moment to scramble up and run for your life. 

Ezra watched you go, he wasn’t going to shoot you when you were retreating. He let you run away, partially because he was still in shock, but also because he felt a small part of guilt gnawing at his stomach. He had seen the look in your eye when you had asked Damon if you could go. Another puppet on someone else’s string. 

A small groan to his left made him spin around, gun up and aimed at whatever he thought was going to attack him. A cough made him look down. Damon was still alive. 

Blood was running out of his mouth, making its path down his cheek to his neck. Ezra walked over to him, the gun still pointed at him. Damon caught his eyes as he got closer, glaring daggers at him. 

“Stay the fuck away from-” Ezra didn’t hesitate before shooting him in the head. It was better not to have loose ends. He looked again in the direction you ran, but you had gone. With a sigh, he bent to pick up his pack and headed off in search of shelter. He headed for the suburbs, as Z’s were less likely to be there. Any animals that were left and hadn’t turned usually ran to the city for a reason no one understood. Since they were prime food sources after humans, Z’s tended to stick close to them. 

After a quick check through Two’s pack to scavenge anything of use, Ezra made his way in the directions of the houses he saw a day ago. 

~  
Ezra had been walking a good twenty minutes before he got to his destination. The daylight had faded as night crept in, lowering visibility. Deciding beggars couldn’t be choosers, and it was much better to be inside than out, he chose the first house he saw. It was a one-story home and the doors and windows were still intact which he took as a good sign. 

He did a quick perimeter check around the area and saw he was alone as far as he knew. A thought flashed to you and where you were passed his mind, but he paid it no attention now seeing as he needed to think about his safety. Maybe when it was daylight again, he could go looking for you…

With his gun raised, he gingerly tried the front door. It gave away easily which made him pleased and nervous at the same time. Although he thought to himself, Z’s didn’t have the manners to close doors behind them. He paused in the entryway to listen for indications of someone else being in the house. He waited a minute, then another just to be careful. When nothing came running at him from the darkness, he took it as a sign that it was safe. He closed the door behind him and let his eye adjust. 

To the right of him was a door that was open, showing a bedroom, moonlight spilling in from the windows to illuminate the bed. There was another door to his left that was ajar but he couldn’t see inside. The hallway went on to lead to another two doors at the end which were closed. He took his bag off and reached inside for his torch. He put his bag back on and turned his torch on and raised his gun again and went into the door on his left. 

The dim light revealed it to be a small bathroom. The toilet behind the door and the sink in front of it. At the end of the room was a bathtub that had a showerhead in it, the shower curtain missing with its clips bent out of shape, inferring it had been ripped off. Other than that clue, there wasn’t much else in there. His eyes were drawn to the medicine cabinet. It couldn’t hurt to check. He opened the door carefully, only to find it had either been ransacked already, or it was already bare. He cursed to himself quietly. He left the bathroom and went straight across the hall into the bedroom. People sometimes left useful things there. 

It was sparse, only the heavy furniture or useless furniture that was pointless in taking were left. A heavy wardrobe sat in the corner, a dressing table with a smashed mirror and a chair next to it. He walked over to the dressing table to check the drawers. He had a feeling that it would end up like the bathroom but he still checked anyway. As he was pulling the drawers open, he heard a thump that sounded like it came from the other end of the house. His head shot up at the noise. He poked his head out but there was nothing there. He went back inside the bedroom and grabbed the chair to place against the front door for protection. Better to be safe than sorry. 

Ezra returned to the bedroom to continue his search when he heard the thump again from down the hallway. He didn’t know if it was from outside or not. 

His heart leapt into his throat when he heard a door at the end of the hallway squeak open. The sound of shuffling footsteps could be heard, and then the sound of another door opening. He poked his head around the corner of the bedroom door. Both doors at the end of the hallway were open. 

Not knowing which one opened first, he went into the door on the left. It was a living room, and it looked like someone had been sleeping on the sofa. His stomach dropped. A shadow suddenly passed across the window, as if someone was pacing back and forth. He carefully took a step closer to get a better view, just as a hulk passed by his face. Ezra almost fell backwards. He righted himself and ran to the hallway to go into the other room. 

He would have paused at the sight of you standing there, bathed in moonlight, but you were about to walk up to the window the hulk was about to walk past. 

Without thinking, he reached forward and put his hand around your mouth and the other arm around your waist. 

“Shhh.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that’s the first chapter done. There’ll be a lot more Ezra in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave kudos or a comment if you did like it. I eat them for motivation :D


End file.
